After go-live: keeping custom software healthy
The day custom software goes live, its real users arrive with real data, and the most useful feedback starts. Planning for what comes after launch is what separates software that improves over the years from software that slowly rots.
Backups you have actually restored
Automatic backups are standard; restoring from them is not. Choose hosting with point-in-time recovery, and test a restore before you need one. A backup nobody has restored is a hope, not a plan.
Know before your users tell you
Monitor errors, slow pages, failed background jobs and failed integrations, and send alerts to someone who will act on them. The goal is to fix a problem before a customer phones about it.
Keep the foundations up to date
Frameworks, libraries and servers receive security fixes all the time. Small, regular updates are routine; skipping them for two years turns into a costly project. Budget a little every month rather than a lot every few years.
Plan for small improvements
The first months of real use always produce a list of changes. Agree in advance how they are handled:
- A monthly support allowance for fixes and small changes.
- A shared list of requests, ranked by the business, not by whoever asks loudest.
- A regular release rhythm, so changes arrive predictably and can be tested.
- Clear response times for problems that stop work.
Own your software
Make sure you hold the source code, the hosting accounts and the documentation in your own name. Then you can change supplier if you ever need to — which is also the best guarantee you will not have to.
Software Project Brief Template
A 3-page, fill-in brief that gets you a sharper estimate from any developer.
- 3-page PDF
- About 45 minutes
- Print or fill on screen
More articles
Planning
Build or buy: when custom software is the right call
Off-the-shelf software is usually the right answer — until the way you work is the thing that sets you apart. A practical test for deciding, and the middle path most businesses miss.
Planning
How to brief a software project so the quote means something
Two quotes for the same project can differ five-fold because each team imagined a different system. A one-page brief that makes estimates comparable — and what to leave out.
Commercials
Fixed price or time and materials: how to pay for software
Fixed price feels safe but prices in uncertainty; time and materials is flexible but needs trust. When each fits, and the phased model that combines the strengths of both.
Start a project
Planning something like this?
Tell us what the software has to do and who will use it. We reply within one business day.